Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Southwestern British Columbia and West Coast of the United States:

MODERATE PRECIPITATION CONTINUES Weekly precipitation totaled 30 to 80 mm, with locally higher amounts in northern California (up to 200 mm), southwestern Oregon (up to 165 mm), western Washington (up to 125 mm), and southern Vancouver Island (up to 100 mm). Precipitation to date during 1999, ranged from 100 to 1100 mm along the West Coast, resulting in short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 500 mm [WET - 5 to 10 weeks].

2. Gulf Coast:

PRECIPITATION SHORTAGES REMAIN Only 10 to 40 mm of precipitation fell on the Gulf Coast from Galveston Bay eastward through the Florida Panhandle while little or no rain was reported on western Peninsular Florida. Moisture deficits for the year so far ranged from 50 to 150 mm [DRY - 4 to 10 weeks].

3. Eastern and Central United States and Adjacent Parts of Mexico and Canada:

COLDER AIR ENDS WARM SPELL Although temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal across the region during the past week, colder air and wintry weather returned by the weekend. The mercury approached 30°C at Laredo, TX (28°N) and soared above 10°C as far north as Muskegon, MI (44°N) [WARM - Ending at 2 to 6 weeks].

4. Northwestern South America:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS PERSIST Moderate to heavy rains (30 to 100 mm) fell on northern Peru and western Colombia, with locally higher totals (100 to 150 mm) in west-central Peru and west-central Colombia. Farther northeast, little or no rain fell on Venezuela, except for 10 to 40 mm in the extreme western portions of the country. During January and the first 20 days of February, between 150 and 400 mm of rain pelted Colombia and Venezuela, and variable precipitation amounts (90 to 810 mm) accumulated in Peru, resulting in moisture surpluses of 50 to 250 mm across the region [WET - 4 to 9 weeks].

5. Southeastern Europe and Turkey:

STORM BRINGS HEAVY SNOW TO THE ALPS; WETNESS DEVELOPS IN TURKEY A winter storm swept through western Europe over the weekend, dumping heavy snow across the Alps. Weekly precipitation totals of 80 to 110 mm were reported in Switzerland and Austria. According to media accounts, the heavy snowfall engendered numerous avalanches, closing roads and stranding thousands of people. Heavy precipitation this past week (50 to 80 mm) also soaked parts of western Turkey. Since the first of January, the Alpine region has accumulated precipitation surpluses of up to 315 mm while up to 130 mm have accumulated in western Turkey [WET - 4 to 5 weeks].

6. Central Mediterranean:

COLD AIR MODERATES Temperatures for the week again averaged below normal (-1°C to -4°C) across the region with temperatures dropping to -15°C at Cimone Mountain, Italy (44°N) and to -20°C at Omu Mountain, Romania. The weekly averages, however, were much higher than previous weeks [COLD - Ending at 2 to 3 weeks].

7. Southern and Central Asia and Northeastern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY SPREADS WESTWARD Unseasonably high temperatures encompassed a large landmass, extending from northeastern Africa and the Middle East eastward to eastern China and the Korean Peninsula. Weekly temperatures averaged 3C to 7C above normal across northeastern Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula; 3C to 5C above normal across much of south central and southeastern Asia; 4°C to 12°C above normal across Iran, the central Asian Republics, and southern Siberia; 4°C to 9°C above normal across Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, and northern China; and 3°C to 7°C above normal across central and southern China. Temperatures reached as high as 43°C at Kassala, Sudan (15.5°N and 35°C at Dibrugarh, India (27.5°N) [WARM -2 to 6 weeks].

8. Japan:

DRYNESS PERSISTS Weekly precipitation amounts of 10 to 20 mm were scattered across Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Locally heavier amounts of 40 to 65 mm, however, fell along the western central coast of Honshu. Since the start of January, much of the region has received less than 100 mm of precipitation, which is up to 125 mm less than normal [DRY - 5 to 11 weeks].

9. Malaysia, Northwestern Indonesia, and the Southern Philippines:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK Only light to moderate (up to 50 mm) rain fell on Malaysia and the southern Philippines last week, but locally heavy showers (up to 100 mm) were observed on southern Samar. Meanwhile, 10 to 100 mm of rain dampened northern Sumatra. Since the beginning of January, between 300 and 905 mm of rain have soaked Malaysia and northwestern Indonesia, yielding precipitation excesses of up to 600 mm [WET - 5 to 25 weeks].

10. South-Central Indonesia and Northwestern Australia:

MORE WET WEATHER Torrential rains (90 to 300 mm) drenched the immediate coast of northwestern Australia while lesser amounts (30 to 100 mm) fell on interior regions of Western Australia. Meanwhile, 50 to 200 mm of rain soaked Java and the Lesser Sundas. Since the beginning of the year, 100 to 500 mm of rain have drenched northwestern Australia, resulting in moisture surpluses of 50 to 440 mm. For the same time period, eastern Java and the southern islands of the Lesser Sundas were inundated by 500 to 1730 mm of rain (which is 200 to 800 mm above normal) [WET - 5 to 8 weeks].